Map holder



H. B. TOBIAS Nov. 13, 195] MAP HOLDER Filed Aug. 12, 1947 INVENTOR. yen/mann gnagf BY W /ffoB/vg/ Patented Nov. 13, `1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEv MAP HOLDER Herrmann B. Tobias, Washington, D. C.

Application August 12, 1947, Serial No. 768,252

Claims. (Cl. 40-16) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757

in proper display position adjacent the driver of an automobile.

One object of the invention is to facilitate the positioning of such maps at or about the eye or sight level of an operator of a vehicle in a manner that will not obstruct his vision but will allow ready referenceto said maps While driving.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of means for holding a number of maps sufficient for a complete journey in such manner that they can be readily changed to expose successive strips as the information on each is to be utilized.

A further object of the invention consists in providing a holder capable of supporting strip maps printed with luminescent inks to facilitate night driving of civilian and military vehicles.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain features of construction and placement of parts which will hereinafter be described and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the novel stripmap holder, with the maps and partition broken away to show the means for attaching the holder in place;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the front part of a vehicle, with the operator leaning to oneside to show the position of the strip-map holder attached to an end post of the vehicle;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view ofthe holder, partly broken away, taken on line 3-3 of Figure l looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the holder showing one of the two fastening plates;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view of the holder taken on line 5-5 of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the holder taken on line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the numeral I0 indicates the holder generally, which holder is formed from a blank of thin sheet metal or plastic folded in rectangular form to provide an elongated rectangular frame of chanfr nel formation having side walls II, a bottom I2, and a front display opening I3. The top of this frame-like container is provided with an opening HI through which maps may be placed in or removed from the holder. The back wall of the holder is in the form of two in-turned flanges I5 spaced apart at their edges to form an elongated slot I5 and having upward extensions I5" beyond the opening III to serve as guide ngers in directing strip maps into the interior ofthe holder. The front wall of the holder at the opening I4 is provided with a nger opening I6 to facilitate withdrawal of a map after it has served its purpose.

Within the map holder is a loose or free-floating partition I'I, also formed of sheet metal and having its upper edge bent slightly forward, as indicated at I8, to facilitate the entrance of the lower edges of strip maps into the rear compartment provided by the partition.

As indicated hereinbefore, it is desirable to support the holder of the present invention on the front post of the vehicle adjacent the driver, and in such position as not to reduce or modify in any way normal visibility. To this end, one or more plates (two being shown in the present illustration) are mounted within the slot I5 of the rear wall, and are so constructed as to receive suitable attaching means for mounting the holder on the end post at the left of the vehicle. These plates are indicated generally by the reference numeral 20, and are notched as indicated by numeral 2I and bent upwardly to provide olfset flanges 22 adapted to engage the inner faces of the back wall members I5, and fingers 23 for engaging the exterior faces of these members, so that the body of the plate is depressed and situated exteriorly of the holder to thereby minimize interference with strip maps being placed in the rear compartment. Tongues 24 are formed on the edges of the offset flanges 22, and these tongues are passed rearwardly through slots 25 formed in the flanges I5 and bent tightly against the rear faces of these flanges so as to hold the plates securely in their intended position. The depressed body portion of each plate 2|] is provided with an elongated slot 26 adapted to receive a screw for mounting the holder on the end post of the vehicle. This plate is also provided at its upper end with an outwardly offset tongue 21 provided with a slot 28, and at its lower end with a relatively narrow tongue 29, each adapted to receive fastening means for securing the map holder to the end post of a vehicle.

The front end posts of most vehicles are sufliciently wide to accommodate the strip-map holder and the maps contained therein, which are usually about 21/2 inches wide and 9 inches long,

without interfering with a full view of the road ahead.

The maps within the holder, when the latter is attached to the end post, are to be automatically set at the eye or sight level of the operator, and it will be obvious that the maps can be readily referred to` without the necessity of bending or turning the head or using magnifying lenses. The end post of a vehicle at the juncture with the door is usually provided with large weather-stripping cord A of flexible material, and it is intended that the map holder be secured to this cord either by passing a largeheaded pin 3l through the slot 28 into the cord or by inserting the L-shaped staple 32 into the cord in overlapping relation to the tongue or nger 29, or both.

In some vehicles, however, a metal molding is used in lieu of the cord A referred to above, and to secure the map holder to such metal moldingr a screw 30 is employed, this screw beingV ordinarily used for mounting the molding in place and being removed and, then replaced in the molding after being passed into the slot 26 of the attaching plate 20.

Strip maps generally indicate a recommended traiic lane or road for distances of approximate- 1y 100' to 250 miles, and 4a sufiicient numberv of such strips for a long journey can be inserted in proper sequence in the front compartment provided by the loosely mounted partition il, and after each strip has served its purpose it may be readily withdrawn and transferred to the rear compartment, thus exposing the succeeding strip map for use through th-e display opening i3'. The use of luminescent strip maps in the holder of the present invention will obviate the necessity of using conventional illumination for night driving, which isof course highly desirable with regard to' military vehicles in combat areas.

a While the map holder has been illustrated and describedV in considerable detail, it is obvious that various changes may be made in its construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A strip map holder comprising a container having a display opening in its front wall and an elongated vertical slot in its rear wall, a plate Amounted transversely of said slot and provided with a slot for receiving a fastener, a relatively ,narrow extension on one end of the plate in alignment therewith and adapted .to be straddled by a fastening means such yas a staple, the opposite' end of the plate being oiTset and provided with a fastener-receiving opening.

2. A strip-map holder comprising a relatively thin rectangular container having an open top and a width approximating that of the corner post of an automobile, said container provided with openings in its front and rear walls, extensions on the rear Wall at the top thereof, and a vertical partition loosely mounted in the container.

3. A -strip-map holder comprising a relatively thin rectangular container havin-g an open top and a width approximating that of the corner post of an automobile, said container provided with openings in its front and rear Walls, extensions on the rear wall at the top thereof, a plate mounted transversely of the opening in the f rear wall and` provided with one or more slots adapted to receive means for attaching the holder to the corner post of a vehicle, and a vertical partition loosely mounted in the container.

4. A strip-map holder comprising a relatively thin rectangular container having an open top and aA width approximating that of the corner post of an automobile, said container provided with ay display opening in its front Wall and an elongated slot in its rear wall, and a plate mountedac'ro'ss said slot and provided with one or more slots adapted to receive means for attaching the container to the corner post of an automobile.

5 A strip-map holder comprising a relatively thin rectangular container having an open top and a Width approximating that of the corner post of an automobile, said container provided with Aa ldisplay opening in its front wall and an elongated slot in its rear Wall, a plate mounted across said slot and provided with one or more slots adapted to receive means for attaching the container to the corner post of an automobile, and a relatively narrow extension on the plate adapted to be straddled by a fastening means such as a staple.

HERRMANN B. TOBIAS.

REFERENCES CITED The .following references are of record in the iile otthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 807,888 Wallace Dec. 19, 1905 831,205 Barnard Sept. 18, 1906 960,833 Crum June 7, 1910 1,038,841 Brown Sept. 17, 1912 1,220,468 Smith Mar. 27, 1917 1,347,222 Hufschmidt July 20, 1920 1,538,233 Bastian May 19, 1925 1,632,812 Williams June 21, 1927 1,686,212 Kingsley Oct. 2, 1928 1,814,690 Haack July 14, 1931 2,029,089 Wierauch Jan. 28, 1936 

